OBJECTIVE: Investigate the level of effectiveness and degree of durability of several different interventions (In-Home Crisis Intervention, Parenting & Community Living Skills Training, and Existing Community Interventions) and their various combinations in preventing family breakup and institutionalization. BACKGROUND: State and local priorities strongly endorse funding alternatives to institutional care and promoting the competence of families. Recent work has clearly demonstrated the efficacy of in-home crisis intervention. The next step in building knowledge is a factorial study evaluating the differential effects of various intervention strategies. RATIONALE: The status of families becomes less stable, family breakup and child ejection is increasing, yet institutional care is scarce and often of questionable quality. Detailed knowledge about the factors critical to cost-effective family crisis resolution is needed. METHODS: A 3 x 2 factorial design will be used to investigate the effectiveness and durability of several intervention strategies. Families in crisis (at risk of ejecting one or more members) will be randomly assigned to 5 of 6 possible treatment sequences. No families will be assigned to the no-treatmet control group because of ethical and legal issues. RESEARCH PLAN: Demographic, self-report, and observational data will be collected. The relative effectiveness of the interventions will be evaluated by pre-post measurement of individual psychosocial status, family functioning, and parenting and community living skills at several uniform times throughout the family's active participation in the project. Durability will be assessed by post intervention demographic follow up (institutionalization premature separation, etc.) ranging from 12 to 60 months depending upon when the family enters the project. SIGNIFICANCE: Working with families at their time and in their setting has been shown to produce good results. This study takes the next step in looking at the relative effectiveness and durability of different types of intervention. It will cement the cost benefit data of the basic approach and will serve 60 families per year.